This article is a reference for the node types available on the Forms Toolbar. Use it when you're choosing which node to add or configuring a node's settings.

New to Form Builder? Start with Building Your First Form for a step-by-step walkthrough. For the Form Builder panels and menus themselves, see Form Builder: Menus & Options.

The Forms Toolbar

Every node type lives on the Forms Toolbar. Drag a node from the toolbar onto the form canvas to add it.

Node	Use it for
(A) Text box	Free-typed text
(B) Date	A date, typed or picked from a calendar
(C) Checkbox	A list where users can select more than one option
(D) Radio button	A list where users select exactly one option
(E) Dropdown list	A list shown in a dropdown, single or multi-select
(F) Container	Pairs with a table to create an add table that duplicates rows
(G) Signature	An electronic signature that locks fields and routes the form
(H) Upload attachment	Attaching a file. Not recommended.
(I) Text/Heading	Static text, headings, and instructions
(J) Table	Arranging nodes in rows and columns
(K) Image	Logos and other images
(L) Page	A page break when the form is printed
(M) Go-to dropdown	Navigate to a specific node on the form

Settings every node shares

Naming

• Name — what appears in the Data Library. Must be unique, and there is a character limit. Name a node after what will be entered into it.
• Label — what appears on the form. Auto-fills from the Name, and you can change it. There is no character limit.
• Description and Hover text — optional. Hover text appears when a user points at the node.

Tip: Add colons to your labels, not your names. "Student Name" is the name; "Student Name:" is the label.

Behavior

• Required — the node must be completed. Required items are highlighted in red.
• Read only — users cannot edit the node. Use this for calculated totals and any field that receives dataflow.
• Active date and Inactive date — when a node turns on or off, at midnight and 11:59pm of the dates you set. Used when changing a form that is already in use, especially to retire a node that already holds data.

Appearance

These live in View Item Properties. Standard formatting is applied automatically, so you can usually leave them alone.

• Label position — where the label sits relative to the field. Beside is the default; Above is the other common choice.
• Field size — Small, Medium, or Large. Small is the default. Use Large for comment and explanation fields that need room. Multi-line and width adjust automatically to match.
• Column span and Row span — how many table columns or rows a node occupies. Both default to 1.
• Colors, borders, font — formatting for the label and the field, including bold, italic, underline, size, borders, padding, and spacing.

Note: View Item Properties also has a Read only setting. Use the one in Data Properties instead.

Autofill from the database

Nodes can pull information Experiential Learning Cloud already stores, so users don't retype what the system knows.

• Database connection — choose Initial Value to fill the node from the database when the form opens. No Connection is the default.
• Database field — the specific field to pull from. The available fields depend on the form's Use in documents for setting.
• Link table — narrows the available database fields to a specific role, based on the extra linked tables set up on the form record.

Note: To pull from a table beyond the form's primary one, add it under Extra linked tables on the form record first. See Getting Started with Form Builder.

Caution: Database connection also offers Update Value, which writes data from the form back into the database. This is used only in specific configurations. Contact Support before enabling it.

Dataflow

To carry a value from a node on one form into a node on another form, use the Dataflow nodes section of Data Properties. See Dataflow and Form Logic, and How to Autofill a Form Using the Correct Dataflow Source for choosing the right source.

Text box

Allows users to free-type text.

• Placeholder — grey prompt text that guides the author on what to enter.
• Mask — forces a format, using 9 as the digit placeholder. Entering 999-999-9999 formats anything typed as a phone number.
• Max. characters — limits how much a user can type.
• Default — pre-fills the field with text.
• Context variables — pulls in details such as the form author's name, the current date, or the name of the person the form is about.

Note: Placeholder and Default are not the same. A placeholder disappears when the user types. A default counts as a completed entry even if the user never touches it.

Date

Allows users to enter a date in ##/##/#### format or pick one from a calendar.

• Max days in future — how far ahead a date can be set.
• Max days in past — how far back a date can be set.
• Default — auto-fills a date. Document Start Date is the most common choice.

Checkboxes, radio buttons, and dropdown lists

These three nodes share the same settings. What differs is how many options a user can pick and how the list displays.

Node	Users can select	Displays as
Checkbox	More than one	All options visible
Radio button	Exactly one	All options visible
Dropdown list	One, or more if multi-select is on	A dropdown menu

• Multi-select — lets users choose more than one option. Always on for checkboxes.
• Allow other — adds an "Other" option. Users can select it, but they cannot rename it or give it a value.
• List source — fills the list from existing data such as States, Sites, or Staff. Choose Specified Options to write your own.
• Text — what the user sees next to each option.
• Value — the number behind each option, used by logic and calculations. Each option should have its own value.
• Number of columns — splits a long list across several columns instead of one tall stack.

Note: Values matter if the node will drive logic. For show/hide rules, each option just needs a different value. For arithmetic, the value should match the score you want counted.

Signature

Lets a user electronically sign the form and lock nodes. Signatures also control how a form is routed from person to person.

• Signer tags — controls who can sign, based on the signer tags assigned in a user's Roles and Tags. See Signature Lines and Signer Tags for which tag belongs to which user type.
• Locked nodes — which nodes become uneditable once the signature is applied. Leave it empty and the signature locks every node on the form.

Caution: If a form has no signature node for a given user type, and that user type is not set as the form's author in the assignment builder, users with that role cannot see the form unless it is shared with them manually. For setting up signature order, see Building Your First Form.

Text/Heading

Holds static text such as headings, instructions, and section descriptions. Text/Headings do not collect data, so they have no Data Properties. Edit them in View Item Properties.

Use the text editor to write and format your text. Text/Headings also support context variables, so static text can pull in details like the student's name.

Tip: Turn on Make part of Table of Contents in View Item Properties to use a Text/Heading as a section header. Combined with paged view, this lets users jump between sections. Only use this setting on Text/Heading nodes.

Table and container

Tables arrange nodes in rows and columns. Drag other nodes into a table to use it. Tables do not collect data themselves, so they have no Data Properties.

Pairing a table with a container creates an add table, which lets users duplicate a row as many times as they need.

• Width — column width in pixels or a percentage. Click the (+) icon to add a column.
• Link to container — connects the table to a container to create an add table.
• Fill available width — stretches the table across the full width of the view.
• Alternating row colors — shades every other row grey.

Caution: Set widths on all of your columns or none of them. If some columns have a width and others don't, the unset columns compress badly when the form is printed, even though they look correct online. For a full walkthrough, see Adding Tables.

Image

Places an image on the form. Most often used for an institution's logo at the top.

• Upload/select image — uploads an image from your computer.
• Use customer logo — uses the logo from your Experiential Learning Cloud account, the one you see when you log in. See How to Upload Your Logo to change it.
• Max height and Max width — logos look best at 25% for both.

Page, upload, and fields dropdown

Three nodes you will rarely need.

• Page — adds a page break or changes page orientation. Affects printed forms only, not the online view.
• Upload attachment — attaches a file to the form. Not recommended.
• Fields dropdown — lists everything on the form. Similar to the Data Library, but it also shows Text/Headings.

Related articles

• Building Your First Form
• Getting Started with Form Builder
• Form Builder: Menus & Options
• Form Builder: Dataflow and Form Logic
• Form Builder: Adding Tables
• Form Builder: Editing Published Forms
• Signature Lines and Signer Tags